James this morning has mentioned that he's excessively tired. He doesn't have a fever, and he isn't coughing. Throat isn't sore, no swelling, and his eyes dilate just fine. But he's *incredibly* tired. Honestly, I figured he'd been up too late last night reading and was suffering the consequences of his choices, and so, being the alma mater I am *snort*, I figured I'd proceed with business as usual and let him hang tough today (and hopefully, get some rest tonight, right? Um, yeah, right. Something like that.)
Anyhow, we sat down to breakfast, and I looked up and... YIKES! What HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!?!?
You can see it across his nose, cheeks, and chin, here.
The left side is worse than the right.
He's never ruddy. I mean, he's pale, but he's not normally splotchy. Or red. He's not cold. He doesn't have this anywhere else on his body. He says it doesn't itch, it just feels "radiant, like when you get sunburned".
We've changed nothing recently - detergent, foods, vitamins. I wouldn't be concerned about this if he wasn't so doggedly exhausted this morning, as well. Any ideas?
Thanks, Dy
15 comments:
My vote is definately for Fifths Disease which is a lot less serious than it sounds. lol
For anyone looking at rashes Dr. Sears is awesome (as always). You can read more, including a list of the 11 most common childhood rashes here.
I was also going to say Fifths Disease.
Aw, poor kid!!
-Gretchen
I second the vote on Fifths disease. A couple of mine have had this. It's human parvo virus that is normally pretty mild and not a big deal.
I don't want to worry you but... since you're pregnant...you might want to call your midwife. I can't remember how many weeks you are. It's only an issue if you are less than 20 weeks.
Most likely, you already have immunity anyway. I just wanted to mention it though.
It looks quite a bit like something Emma had last spring. She had the fatigue too. If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't exactly sympathetic at first either. :-) The rash was gone in 2-3 days, as was the fatigue.
I thought it was Fifths Disease, but then Gregory came down with Chicken Pox about a week later and Emma never got it (at least with the same symptoms as Gregory). And believe me, there was every reason it should have transmitted between the two! After talking it over with my HS group we were still left rather puzzled. Some thought that perhaps Emma had some weird form of Chicken Pox that Gregory caught from her, others thought that we somehow managed to get Fifths Disease w/ one kid and Chicken Pox w/ the other in a one week span, and others were just completely perplexed. Thankfully, it was all over quite quickly (even the CP only lasted about 5 days, and it was a pretty mild case - probably helped that he was nursing a lot!). I'm going to be very curious to see what happens next time we come in contact with CP again though!
Looks like Fifth's to me too. Poor guy - I hope he's feeling better soon.
Yep, I'll chime in with Fifth's didease, too! All but two of my children had have had it, and it's one of those viruses that isn't very mean.
I'm stumped. And for the record, I would handle it the same way. No fever? Not itching? Only on the face? Hope he's all better tonight, and mom can rest easy!
Gosh -- those are some splotches! No helpful suggestions here, but I hope he feels better quickly!
if i had to guess... 5ths disease.
I believe this is Slapped Cheek Syndrome, or Fifths Disease. I usually don't like doing "drive-by consultations", but I guess there's no harm here. Treat his fever, if any, with Tylenol, let him rest up and drink lots of fluids for a few days, till he feels better. If any additional symptoms develop, take him to the pediatrician.
Josh - I'm a PA in Brooklyn, NY.
Isn't it great when you can be seen by a PA - for free! - from the comfort of your house?
:-)
Feel better, James!
Wow, a unanimous input! LOL! That's pretty much what I figured, after I posted and pestered Jess and started doing research. MUCH better to go this route than take him to the ped's office, where we'll go in w/ a rash and come out with strep, pink eye, asian bird flu, and flesh eating bacteria. (Yeah, our ped is great, but he doesn't have the best contamination control methods in his lobby.)
Thanks, all, for your input. The rash came and went today. Still no other symptoms other than being tired. The other three were pretty grouchy - perhaps they're experiencing empathetic symptoms of illness? ;-) It happens. Poor Zorak has had heartburn and leg cramps this whole trimester!
And so ends another mystery. I can't wait to get my mystery rash badge for my Mother's Uniform! (Too much scouting activity this week, you think?)
Dy
Well, being that I only can see one picture and being that I live in the north, I would have said chapped. Couldn't explain the tiredness though.... Glad it's gone.
Oh, this is too weird.
Braden had a similar thing last week - splotchy face, rash on his tummy and a bit on his arms. But no fever or itching. I assumed 5ths disease or a dry skin/excema rash, and he's been lotioning up a LOT. It got better after 3-4 days.
Hopefully James is feeling better soon!
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